Waiting on Daddy

So as we wait on Daddy to make it home from his Colorado snowboarding trip (followed by two days... and counting... of illness, a hospital stay & canceled flights), Canaan and I are attempting life as usual in between phone calls.

This child absolutely LOVES bath time.



Meet... "The Captain". A bath time favorite.



When Canaan was a wee babe, he spent a lot of time with his tongue hanging out. The tongue... returns.



I'm pretty sure I'm in love with this boy. See those little choppers? Two more have already started cutting through.



It's scary to me how grown he looks sometimes...



PS. Congratulations to my Aunt Yvonne & Uncle Bill across the pond on their new daughter and son (twins!).

PPS. Thanks for all the prayers. And a HUGE thank you to my Aunt Jean in Colorado and Nate. You both are amazing.

Playdate and a Project

Canaan is turning more and more into a little boy everyday, which means... play dates with friends! Jessica and Jackson stopped giving the boys a chance to play, follow each other around, attempt to drink out of each others' sippy cups, and give each other rides in the car (okay, just Canaan rode while Jackson pushed... adorable).







Then tonight after Canaan went to bed I started on my photo wall project. I had already laid out my asymmetrical plan (taking notes from Young House Love) and just had to get everything on the wall! Here's the result (aside from an empty frame in there which will be remedied soon!)...

Spacepants & Blocks

While BJ's snowboarding (or "shredding nar" as he has twittered) in Breckenridge with college buddies, Canaan and I are having some extra Mommy/baby time, including a little play date later today with Mr. Jackson!



I'm toying around with trying out a one-nap day (dropping his morning nap and starting the normal second nap sooner)... maybe tomorrow. An extra nap means I have extra time to make Canaan some new spacepants!

Adorableness

Today I've let Canaan run a little wild, including letting him throw soft toys down the stairs through the upper gate and letting him play with some of my yarn (yea, we're that nutty). What I am going to do with yarn, anyway (insert shameless plea for someone to please teach me how to knit)...?

Welcome to the adorable aftermath....



I am so amazed at how much Canaan has been picking up lately. I can literally (okay, not literally) see the connections forming in his brain. It's so much fun to watch and yet at the same time I'm trying to find the pause button. I can see a little boy starting to form out of my baby!

His new favorite things:

• Turning on and off lights via the wall switch. At one spot in our house we have a switch that controls the front hall, the dining area and the kitchen. With just a little playing he now gets which switch goes to which light.
• Clapping BJ's childhood blocks together.... loudly.
• Walking over and sitting in my lap... and staying there (heart. melting....)
• Carrying apples and/or oranges around the house (part of his already established obsession of getting into the fridge)
• Sharing / ie. handing us stuff (like apples and oranges he's done with)
• Watching us and mimicking - this morning I sniffed his glow-seahorse (lovey = smelly). Canaan, watching, grabbed it from me and blew air out of his nose at it. :)

Feeling a Bit Better

Today I was certainly not 100%... tired and in need of some rest (leading to the deepest sleep during a nap that I have probably ever had)... but on the whole we're doing a lot better around here. I even had a little extra energy saved up to snap some photos of my cutie climbing in and out of his "Moses" basket.



This has got to be one of my favorites of Canaan in a while. Yes, he really is that rosy cheeked. Don't you just want to squeeze him?!





Canaan has been growing and learning so much lately. In this shot he's handing me my lens cap - and he got pretty frustrated with me that I didn't put it on the camera right away. Smarty pants. BJ and I were playing with Canaan in his room earlier when he found his shoe, walked over to hand it to me, sat down and pointed his foot into the air. He may not say much but he sure knows how to get his point across!

To Do

Today's TO DO list:

1. Finish getting better (nearly a check)
2. Make a block tower & knock it down (check)
3. Blow some bubbles (check)
4. Read some books (check)
5. Watch a family movie (Lion King) with cuddle our bug (check)
6. Sort the toys (check)
7. Make our final truck payment (check!!)

BJ's TO DO list:

1. All of the above... plus:
2. Clean the septic tank filter (check)... blech!

Thankfully Canaan is feeling MUCH better than a few days ago, when I shot this video of him with his pedia-pop.

Who Wore it Better?

BJ's Mom saved some truly adorable outfits from BJ's younger years - my favorite being the grey tank top that says, "I'm a Little Turkey"! Canaan swims in it... so for now I'll leave you with the then and now of this sweet little baseball uniform. And maybe, just maybe... this summer we'll try on the red baby speedo. ;)

Balancing Life and Work

It's a little tricky when the lines between work and home are blurred... but overall I am just so fortunate to have the situation that I do. You know all those ads targeting young mothers to "work from home!"... but in reality it's just too good to be true. For me, it IS true. This is the blessed life I'm living! I'm able to work from home (doing graphic design) four days a week and go in the fifth when BJ is home (his "man" day with Canaan).



Canaan "helping" Mommy (from a few weeks ago)... with his very own wireless keyboard.

The First Stomach Bug

...Not exactly a day for the baby books, but still (despite the moments of coughing, vomit, scared cries and clean-up) sweet in it's own way. My sick little guy sleeping soundly at last...

Welcome to Our World

Since December of 2005 (just 7 months after BJ and I were married) I have been a blogger. The former home of our life blog http://murphyplace.blogspot.com is now retired as I'm hoping for a fresh blogging start.

So, that leads me today...

Ten days ago Canaan turned 13 months old. For the longest time I dreaded the one year mark, wanting time to just slow down already. But now we're rounding one and heading towards two. I have come to enjoy each new stage of his life because it's all amazing. Even the hardest parts - the dead of night when he is crying for me (for example) are truly a privilege. Cleaning up after him when he gets sick in his crib... in the pantry... in his highchair (can you tell it's been a long day already?). Having to comfort him is a blessing. This is a we-get-to... not a we-have-to.